get the worst of it

Idioms  

1. Also, have the worst of it. Be defeated, experience a disadvantage, or suffer the most harm. For example, In any argument Joe usually gets the worst of it, or If we play the last three games as scheduled, our team is bound to have the worst of it, or The car got the worst of it, and no one was hurt. These phrases survive many older ones (such as go to the worst and come by the worst) in which worst is used in the sense of “defeat,” a usage dating from about 1500. Also see get the better (best) of.

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Example Sentences

Consumers, he adds, "get the worst of it".

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

But while rich countries like the United States and Britain fret about slowing growth and rising prices, if stagflation makes its long-dreaded return, it will be poorer nations that get the worst of it.

From Washington Post • Jun. 9, 2022

In the paragraphs that follow, the recipient’s alleged lovers get the worst of it.

From New York Times • Nov. 11, 2014

"We can't just pinpoint who's going to get the worst of it."

From Scientific American • Oct. 29, 2012

"Oh, if I am to ask for justice, Dolly, I shall get the worst of it," said he, laughing, but not merrily.

From Tony Butler by Lever, Charles James